The time to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has come

Rapporteur- Farbod Dehghani: After almost seventy years of the Palestinian conflict, now it seems that both sides are close to a solution more than ever . For the first time in history, the Palestinian group Hamas as the main opponent of Israel, had a serious tone change in its new political document which was unveiled last night.

This document is published in 11 articles and 42 paragraph contains important points is perhaps the most unexpected and most important, an implicit recognition of Israel.

Analysts said the release of the document appears to be an attempt by Hamas to seem more pragmatic and help it to avoid international isolation.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohammad Abu Saada, a professor at Gaza's al-Azhar University, called the new document a bid to "accommodate Egyptian conditions and calm Egyptian fears" regarding Hamas connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt has classified as a "terror" group since democratically elected president Mohammad Morsi was ousted in a 2013 military coup.

While in the 1988 charter Hamas affirmed its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood by mentioning it six times, the new document asserted Hamas strict Palestinian credentials as a "liberation movement" that uses Islam as its main ideological component.(1

The same can be said about Hamas’s refusal to recognise Israel. Hamas’s political document is closer to the two-state framework than the manifesto of Likud, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s own political party. Likud’s platformmakes no mention of the 1967 lines and, just as Hamas refuses to recognise Zionism’s legitimacy, Likud refuses to recognise the right of Palestinians to self-determination. The racist views of the Israeli political establishment have been met with a strengthening of diplomatic ties with the US and the UK, while Hamas continues to face marginalisation.

Despite its shortcomings, Hamas’s new document articulates political demands that have long been central to the Palestinian struggle, and that are enshrined in numerous UN resolutions, including the right of return. Trenchant criticism of Zionism and its political manifestations in Israel today is hardly limited to Hamas or even to Palestinians. Israel has historically chosen to evade these political demands, preferring instead to manage the conflict. This has resulted in intermittent efforts to “mow the lawn” in Gaza, and the recent sounding of war drums suggests another round is in the offing. Hamas’s new document must be recognised as an opportunity to engage with a crucial interlocutor that continues to enjoy some legitimacy among its constituents.(2